Sissy
A diminutive form of "Sarah" or "Cecilia", meaning little sister.
Name Census estimates that about 624 living Americans carry the first name Sissy. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sissy today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sissy births was 1981 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sissy. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
624
~ 1 in 549,286 Americans
Peak year
1981
27 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2013 SSA rank
#16,277
Tracked since 1944
Popularity
Sissy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sissy from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 158 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sissy by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sissy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sissys live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sissy
The name Sissy is believed to have originated as a diminutive form of the name Cecilia, which traces its roots back to ancient Rome. Cecilia is derived from the Roman family name Caecilius, which itself is thought to come from the Latin word "caecus," meaning "blind."
In the early days of Christianity, the name Cecilia gained significance as it was borne by a Roman martyr, Saint Cecilia, who lived in the 3rd century AD. She is revered as the patron saint of musicians and is often depicted with a small organ or other musical instrument. Her feast day is celebrated on November 22nd in the Catholic Church.
The shortened form Sissy emerged as a nickname or pet name for Cecilia, likely in the Middle Ages or Renaissance period. It was initially used as an affectionate term for young girls named Cecilia, much like the way modern nicknames like Cece or Celia are used today.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Sissy was Sissy von Kindelbrück, a 13th-century German noblewoman and abbess of the Cistercian monastery of Kindelbrück. In literature, the name appears in the works of English playwright William Congreve, who featured a character named Sissy in his 1695 play "Love for Love."
During the 19th century, the name Sissy gained popularity as a standalone given name, particularly in English-speaking countries. Notable figures with the name include:
1. Sissy Jupe, a character in Charles Dickens' novel "Hard Times" (1854).
2. Sissy Spacek (born 1949), an American actress known for her roles in films like "Carrie" and "Coal Miner's Daughter."
3. Sissy Farenthold (born 1926), an American politician and lawyer who ran for the Democratic nomination for Vice President in 1972.
4. Sissy Sellew (1912-1995), an American jazz singer and actress.
5. Sissy Heyward (1890-1948), an American author and playwright best known for her novel "Porgy," which later inspired the opera "Porgy and Bess."
While the name Sissy has waned in popularity in recent decades, its rich history and connection to literary and artistic figures have cemented its place in the annals of given names.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Sissy
People
Sissy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sissy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sissy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sissy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 624 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sissy going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 549,286 US residents.
Is Sissy a common name?
We classify Sissy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 710 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sissy most popular?
The single biggest year for Sissy was 1981, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sissy is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sissy a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sissy in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.